Rated as being the best restaurant in Deauville on Trip Advisor, Le Spinnaker was an obvious choice for the night. After experiencing Honfleur's best , I wanted to enjoy the same experience at Deauville. What does Spinnaker mean? It means a large three-cornered sail, typically bulging when full, set forward of the mainsail of a racing yacht when sailing before the wind.
This is a fine restaurant where the waiter welcomes you at the door. The menu is described as "Livre de Bord" with the chef's name on it, Mr. Frédéric Lesieur, and the wine list they call "Carte aux trésors". Tonight we dine to the notes of calm music in a classy restaurant.
This restaurant is a small square room with an open kitchen and low ceiling. Dimmed lights, grey patterned wallpaper, grey stones and metallic boat decorations... White tables surrounded with red and grey chairs are decorated with silver cutlery and crystal glasses.
Hard crunchy bread, salted butter... Dinner starts with an amuse bouche: tender scallops cut in half, topped with crunchy nuts and marinated in an aromatic oil from Kumbawa.
Our choice for starters:
- Foie gras with apple clémentine chutney and potato homemade bread. An enjoyable salty foie gras served with toasted potato bread that's fresh and oily and a spread of lightly sweet clémentine/apple chutney. Two thumbs up, indeed a superb foie gras.
- Smoked salmon with vegetables confit and coriander cream. Good quality salmon smoked in house, adequately oily and fatty served with toasted bread a mix of vegetables on the side. Coriander cream elevates the flavors to another level.
- Grilled king prawns with chestnut pulp, Mascarpone cheese and black truffles. Yummy king prawns served in a shallow black bowl, tender and juicy bathing in a chestnut cream that's full of taste then aromatized with black truffles.
Tasty appetizers I enjoyed, attentive service but I'd probably work on the plates' presentation.
The main course:
- Roasted sea-bass filet, mushrooms, persil mash potatoes and cream of leeks. Served in a shallow black bowl, the best looking of the four orders, the filet has a crunchy skin and is bathing in a rich juice. An interesting dish.
- Wild turbot filet with tomato broth, quinoa salad with citrus and elderberry dressing.
- Duo of dover-sole filet with autumn vegetables and cream of lemon-grass.
- Veal escalope with roasted pear, salsify and veal jus with Gorgonzola. A large plate hosts a veal escalope, a bit dry for my taste but the sauce and accompaniments make all the difference. Sweet tender pears and edible root vegetables.
The food is good but nothing compared to the desserts... and then came the chef, the pastry chef himself to introduce us to his masterpieces. Chef Cyrille Gérault deserves a Michelin star.
Desserts are the cherry on top!
- A sumptuous Mille feuille, an amazing cream, airy puff pastry, lightness and finesse, a red fruit sauce. One of the best Mille feuilles I've ever had.
- Chocolate tart with warm dark chocolate from Valrhona and a dark chocolate sorbet; it's breathtaking!
- Chocolate sablé, mascarpone cream and fresh strawberries. A perfect sablé, an amazing cream, excellent strawberries and simply breathtaking ice cream.
PS: I would have liked to try the cheese platter prepared by Mr. Jean-Yves Bordier, but we were not asked if we wanted to have some and that is a mistake.
This is a gastronomic experience for $85/person. Good food, no flagrant mistakes but not the finesse I expected.
